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Saturday, December 24, 2016

Apes Victorious is the Christmas Eve Deal of the Day. I'm not even going to touch on how Planet of the Apes drew some inspiration from the story of Christ - oops! I guess I touched on it ;)

Anyhow, Apes Victorious, normally $4.97 is on sale until tomorrow morning for $2.98 - 50% off. This is for the PDF version.

Apes Victorious is a roleplaying game in which you take the role of an astronaut from the 1970’s who finds himself marooned on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. Players may also take the role of an ape, a degenerated human, or a psi-active underdweller. Fight to survive in this post-apocalyptic future ruled by four species of apes. Or play apes who hunt humans for sport. For a different kind of campaign, play highly intelligent but insane underdwellers who have advanced technology and powerful psi powers.

Just a reminder - Day 12 of OSR Christmas won't come around until Monday. I figure between Christmas and Hanukkah there will be plenty of gift giving this weekend. Besides, my free time is tapped out until Monday.

Crypts and Things (C&T) is a Swords and Sorcery Roleplaying game based upon the Old School Rules of the 70s/80s. It also draws upon the British fantasy games and game-books of that period to bring a distinctly dark and dangerous feel to the game.
It was originally released back in early 2012 and after a highly successful Kickstarter in 2015 it returns in a Remastered edition, with revised and expanded content and completely new art by David M. Wright.

Contents
-Introduction : An over view of the book.
-The Scrolls of Wonder
-The Player's section of the game, which explains how to create and play the character who will be the player's alter ego in the game.
-Creating a Character: Guidelines for creating the player's fictional alter-ego in the game.
-Character Classes: Nine character archetypes for players to choose from. Four Core (Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Thief) and five exotic (Beast Hybrid, Disciple, Elementalist, Lizard People and Serpent Man).
-Life Events: Quick background events tables which briefly detail the character's origin and what they did before adventuring.
-Spell Lists: Black, Grey and White Magic, plus Elemental Magic.
-How to Play: The game's simple and straightforward rules.
-The Continent of Terror: A brief overview of the game's included setting.
-What the Elder Told Me: Each of the eight human cultures of the setting detailed in ten questions and answers from a young adult to a respected elder about their worldview.

The Book of Doom
-This is the referee's section of the book.
-Secrets of the Continent of Terror: A deeper view of the setting for referee's, with -The Greater Others and their Works: Three of the terrifying Greater Others and their followers detailed for use in play.
-Snake Dance: A closer look at the society of the insidious Serpent Men.
-Scourges of the Dying World: Five evil nemeses to thwart and oppose the player characters.
-Ill Gotten Gains of Dark Desire: Treasure and perilous magic items.
-A Compendium of Fiends: Dark and deadly monsters to populate your adventures with.
-The Halls of Nizar-Thun: An introductory underground adventure.
-The Haunted Lands: An introductory wilderness adventure.
-Port Black Mire: A fearsome city detailed for urban adventures.
-Notes from the Abyss: A compilation of articles and resources to aid the referee.

The PDF Copies of Crypts & Things go to:Jargogle Bamboozle and Peter V. Dell'orto
Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern at that gmail thing and Newt and I will work out the details. Its the holiday weekend, so please forgive what I expect to be some lag.

Friday, December 23, 2016

I was hoping to kick off the Huge Grab Bag of Gaming Goodness tomorrow, but Christmas weekend is just too busy for me to pull it off. So it will kick off on Monday and it will accept comments through Wednesday.

What is going to be in it? Even I'm not sure. Rach thinks it will require at least 2 boxes to send out (yes, these are duplicates from my collection) and the plan is for the Post Office to pick up a bunch of mail next Thursday or Friday.

There is certainly a complete set of Castles & Crusades Core books (the green covers - not even sure the edition) and a bunch more from the depths. I'm sure some Tunnels & Trolls will slip in ;) Only shipping to the States, as it will be insane otherwise, but this was probably the most Worldwide Friendly OSR Christmas that has run so far.

I'll certainly be posting this weekend, but it will have to squeeze into the "moments between"

Ah well. Trump is as valid an excuse for 5 years of delays as anything else we've seen from Gareth. Hell, I'm willing to bet if he could find a way to pin Trump for 5 years of delays, he would. Its at least as valid as Con Crud.

Do I expect to see anything by the end of the year?

Fuck no!

I could be surprised, but I doubt it.

Still, lets punt the ball. I'll hold my family close there holidays, but it has NOTHING to do with 2016, Far West or any other debacle. I'll hold them close because I love them.

Its Day Eleven of OSR Christmas. Before we get to today's festivities, let's find out who is the recipient of yesterday's awesome gift.

I would do a drum roll but that doesn't work so well on a blog post. Oh well.skeetyrbug - congrats. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavernAT that gmail thing and we'll get you hooked up.

Now for today's gift. We are giving away Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells in Print (the PDF is PWYW, so everyone should grab a copy). This print copy was donated by the author of SS&SS and will be mailed out by me. The US Postal service will be cursing me out next week ;)

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is a rules-light, sword & sorcery, old school role playing game inspired by the original fantasy RPG and the Old School Renaissance movement as well as the stories by such authors as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock. With this book, you and your friends will be able to play exciting adventures with bold barbarians, witty thieves and cunning sorcerers without worrying about complex rules and tiresome preparations.

ATTENTION! Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is not a Simulacrum of an older edition of the world’s most famous fantasy RPG! Although inspired by the original game and the OSR movement, the game was designed to be have its own unique system, more suitable to the Sword & Sorcery genre the author has in mind. The following author's work inspired the mechanics of this game: Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, David Black, Christian Mehrstam, John Cocking, Peter S. Williams, Joseph Goodman, Harley Stroh, Jason Morningstar, Ian Livingstone, Steve Jackson, Simon Washbourne, Kevin Crawford, Sandy Petersen, Mike Manson, Jay Little, James M. Spahn, Ben Milton.

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 24th, 2016 to be in the running for Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells, if Santa picks you :)

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Personal accountability is a concept my father drilled into my psyche starting when I was about nine. I didn’t feed the dogs one day before I went to school. That Saturday, he did not allow me to eat or drink anything from 6AM until 4PM that day. It taught me not only personal accountability, but also the concept that what YOU do affects OTHERS. It taught me that failure was unacceptable.

Fast forward 45 or so years, and I still believe in personal accountability - or, I guess, in the personal accountability of retailers. Because I am a retailer, and I don’t think it is anyone else’s job to provide for me. And I STILL find failure to be unacceptable.

For the writer of this article to talk about "personal accountability" and still be Ken Whitman's biggest enabler, having customers pay for photos with "Whit" the actor, the con man, the flake, Mr Snake Oil Salesman himself - ironic seems to fall short of the gall embodied by this.

Its Day Ten of OSR Christmas. Before we get to today's festivities, let's find out who is the recipient of yesterday's awesome gift.

I would do a drum roll but that doesn't work so well on a blog post. Oh well.Evan Lindsey - congrats. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavernAT that gmail thing and we'll get you hooked up.

Now for today's gift. We are giving away The Majestic Wilderlands in Print & PDF. This is Bat in the Attic Games / +Rob Conley 's take on Judges Guild's Wilderlands, and it is an OSR classic. It simply wouldn't be OSR Christmas without it :)

From the City-State of the Invincible Overlord to the ancient city of Viridistan the wilderness is thick with dungeons and ruins. Contained in this book are the background and rules used in a campaign thirty years in the making. You will find over two dozen classes ranging from Soldiers to Mountebanks and races of Reptile Men to Half-Viridians. New races, magic variants, creatures, and magic items can be found within these pages. Also included is a complete overview of the Majestic Wilderlands. Begin your journey into the Majestic Wilderlands and become the next person to carve their mark in the hall of destiny.

A 140 page rules supplement compatible with the Swords & Wizardry rules and a guide to the Majestic Wilderlands.

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 23nd, 2016 to be in the running for $11.99 in an RPGNow Gift Card. The Majestic Wilderlands in Print + PDF is exactly $11.99 or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours - if Santa picks you :)This prize is available because of readers like you. Your use of The Tavern's affiliate links allows for giveaways like this.

More OSR Christmas+James Spahn is giving away 12 prizes over 12 days and all you need to do is comment on one blog post. You will need to follow the instructions carefully if you want a chance to be gifted.

Its Day Nine of OSR Christmas. Before we get to today's festivities, let's find out who is the recipient of yesterday's awesome gift.

I would do a drum roll but that doesn't work so well on a blog post. Oh well.Jan Egil Bjune - congrats. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern and we'll get you hooked up.

Now for today's gift. We are giving away X2 - Castle Amber is Print on Demand and PDF. Quite possibly the most popular of all the "X" modules.

Trapped in the mysterious Castle Amber, you find yourselves cut off form the world you know. The castle is fraught with peril. Members of the strange Amber family, some insane, some merely deadly, lurk around every corner. Somewhere in the castle is the key to your escape, but can you survive long enough to find it?

This module contains referee notes, background information, maps, and exploration keys intended for use with the D&D Expert rules.

For characters level 3-6.

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 22nd, 2016 to be in the running for $11.99 in an RPGNow Gift Card. Castle Amber in Print + PDF is exactly $11.99 or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours - if Santa picks you :)This prize is available because of readers like you. Your use of The Tavern's affiliate links allows for giveaways like this.

More OSR Christmas+James Spahn is giving away 12 prizes over 12 days and all you need to do is comment on one blog post. You will need to follow the instructions carefully if you want a chance to be gifted.

Crypts and Things (C&T) is a Swords and Sorcery Roleplaying game based upon the Old School Rules of the 70s/80s. It also draws upon the British fantasy games and game-books of that period to bring a distinctly dark and dangerous feel to the game.It was originally released back in early 2012 and after a highly successful Kickstarter in 2015 it returns in a Remastered edition, with revised and expanded content and completely new art by David M. Wright.

Contents-Introduction : An over view of the book.-The Scrolls of Wonder-The Player's section of the game, which explains how to create and play the character who will be the player's alter ego in the game.-Creating a Character: Guidelines for creating the player's fictional alter-ego in the game.-Character Classes: Nine character archetypes for players to choose from. Four Core (Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Thief) and five exotic (Beast Hybrid, Disciple, Elementalist, Lizard People and Serpent Man).-Life Events: Quick background events tables which briefly detail the character's origin and what they did before adventuring.-Spell Lists: Black, Grey and White Magic, plus Elemental Magic.-How to Play: The game's simple and straightforward rules.-The Continent of Terror: A brief overview of the game's included setting.-What the Elder Told Me: Each of the eight human cultures of the setting detailed in ten questions and answers from a young adult to a respected elder about their worldview.

The Book of Doom-This is the referee's section of the book.-Secrets of the Continent of Terror: A deeper view of the setting for referee's, with -The Greater Others and their Works: Three of the terrifying Greater Others and their followers detailed for use in play.-Snake Dance: A closer look at the society of the insidious Serpent Men.-Scourges of the Dying World: Five evil nemeses to thwart and oppose the player characters.-Ill Gotten Gains of Dark Desire: Treasure and perilous magic items.-A Compendium of Fiends: Dark and deadly monsters to populate your adventures with.-The Halls of Nizar-Thun: An introductory underground adventure.-The Haunted Lands: An introductory wilderness adventure.-Port Black Mire: A fearsome city detailed for urban adventures.-Notes from the Abyss: A compilation of articles and resources to aid the referee.

How do you enter for your chance to be gifted? Simply comment on this very post before 8 PM Eastern, December 22nd and you'll be in the pool. Yes, over 48 hours.

I would do a drum roll but that doesn't work so well on a blog post. Oh well.Bob Brinkman, dogrodeo and Dave Bendit - congrats. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern and we'll get you hooked up.

Now for today's gift. We are giving away the OD&D Dungeons & Dragons Original Edition (White Box) in PDF only. The granddaddy that started it all. Sure, the reprint covers look like shit (IMHO) but the rules are what they are and that makes this nearly priceless, especially for those that don't have this in print (and who wants to spend over $22k for a wood grained box anyway?)

First published in January 1974, the original edition rules of Dungeons & Dragons would go on to see six different printings. This edition is for the Original Collector's Edition released By Wizards of the Coast in 2013, which was itself a revision of the 6th and final printing, the "Original Collector’s Edition" or white box edition.

You get all three books contained in the original boxed set: Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure, and Underworld & Wilderness Adventures plus the Reference Sheets booklet.

Great to read and still great to play, the original edition shows you where the roleplaying hobby began and the original version of the game that spawned a hobby and so much more.

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 21st, 2016 to be in the running for $9.99 in an RPGNow Gift Card. OD&D Dungeons & Dragons Original Edition in Print + PDF is exactly $9.99 or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours - if Santa picks you :)This prize is available because of readers like you. Your use of The Tavern's affiliate links allows for giveaways like this.

More OSR Christmas+James Spahn is giving away 12 prizes over 12 days and all you need to do is comment on one blog post. You will need to follow the instructions carefully if you want a chance to be gifted.

YARR! is a fun, easy to learn game for kids, beginners or veteran players who emphasize story and role play over rules. YARR! is intuitive for anyone who has played any OGL / d20 game. It is streamlined so that kids can grasp it easily but robust enough (and including advanced rules for skills) so that veteran player won't find it overly simplified.

Yarr! includes rules for ship to ship combat, a bestiary of human and monstrous adversaries, booty (treasure) appropriate for historical fantasy of the Golden Age of Piracy, Mermaid magic, even a Pirate Talk glossary!

Remember, all purchases using The Tavern's OBS affiliate links puts 5% of your purchase price into The Tavern's coffers. Don't leave that money on the table for the greedy corps! Tip your barman! ;)

edit - just spoke with +Jason Paul McCartan - we are going to pick 3 winners and send the gifts them directly to the winners - Woot! - ET

Its Day Seven of OSR Christmas. Before we get to today's festivities, let's find out who is the recipient of yesterday's awesome gift.

I would do a drum roll but that doesn't work so well on a blog post. Oh well.Charlie Mason - congrats. Email me at tenkarsDOTtavern and we'll get you hooked up.

Now for today's gift. We are giving away the Polyhedral Dungeon (Color Print + PDF). Polyhedral Dungeon is an OSR inspired system that even I grok. Its well written and the rules quickly step aside.

POLYHEDRAL DUNGEON is an ultralight modern take on old school roleplaying. Using the new and simple to use and extend POLYHEDRAL SYSTEM, you can have countless hours of fun delving into dungeons and stealing dragon's hoards.
Features of the game include:

Create new characters for play in about 5-10 minutes.

Choose from the classic old school character tropes, but with slight twists. Play classic dungeon crawls with a flexible unified system that’s easy to learn and extend - make up your own content, or use any of the official Expansions, including The Advanced Rules which provides many new options for play, The Book of Monsters which expands and explores the Monsters in the game, The Book of Loot for more complete treasure and loot options, including many unique items, and The Book of Magic, which expands Talents and rules for magical and divine characters.

Designed for quick pick-up play as well as to handle large groups of players who have little experience in tabletop roleplaying - a perfect beginner’s game and still fun for experts.

Pocket-sized, so that you can take it wherever you’re going.

Includes dice printed in the page margins in case you forget your own, or if you need to make a secret roll as the Judge!

Includes a Giant Badger!

Also includes The Crypts of Bes-Amat, a free adventure showcasing how simple it is to create and run adventures for the game and system, as a separate download.

The book comes in a fully layered and bookmarked digital version, in both color and grayscale formats. Full sized character sheets are available in both formats too. There is also a downloadable full-sized cover that can be used to make your own print-at-home version!

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 20th, 2016 to be in the running for $9.99 in an RPGNow Gift Card. Polyhedral Dungeon in Print + PDF is exactly $9.99 (gift receiver is responsible for shipping cost) or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours Multiple winners and direct shipping - if Santa picks you :)This prize is available because of readers like you. Your use of The Tavern's affiliate links allows for giveaways like this.

More OSR Christmas+James Spahn is giving away 12 prizes over 12 days and all you need to do is comment on one blog post. You will need to follow the instructions carefully if you want a chance to be gifted.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

This is literally a time limited offer. You have just over 4 hours from the time this post goes live to grab your very own Sons of Gygax T-Shirt.

You know how fast She Who Shall Not Be Named would respond to such a shirt, which is why I suspect the window of availability is so limited. That being said, it could have been available for days and I was just the 6th person to buy a shirt. Somehow, I doubt that.

It would make a great Christmas gift but will not arrive in time for the holidays. You can, however, print out this blog post and stick it in an envelope and let them know what's coming ;)

edit - just to be clear, I'm just adding to the bandwidth - this is not something I'm involved with, except for buying a shirt myself :)more edit - obvious link - https://www.gearbubble.com/gygax

I had hoped that the stars would align and I'd be able to bring the gang back for Saturday Night Roll20 OSR Gaming (as well and rebooting the infamous Once a Month of Friday's B-Team) before the year was out, but that simply is not going to happen.

Tentatively, we'll be looking to kick things off January 7th with a new Swords & Wizardry Light campaign, but the questions becomes:

Although technically released for Pathfinder, it is 95% plus system neutral and an excellent resource if you want to make your dungeons come alive.

While I previously ownedDungeon Dressing in PDF (which you can grab for $9.97 today instead of the regular $19.95), Raging Swan has also put the Print plus PDF version on sale for $16 in softcover. Considering that the softcover is normally $24 on its own, $16 is a steal. Yes, they got my $16 today...

What's inside:

Tired of dungeons lacking in verisimilitude? Want to add cool little features of interest to your creations but don't have the time to come up with nonessential details? Want to make your dungeons feel more realistic?

Then GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing is for you! This gigantic compilations comprises all 34 installments in the line as well as scores of riddles, new material and design essays by Creighton. GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing presents loads of great features to add to your dungeon. Designed to be used both during preparation or actual play, GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing is an invaluable addition to any GM's armoury!

Lo, the enchanted forest wherein lives the goblins and faeries beckons… will you heed the call? Now you can, with Purple Duck Games’ Campaign Elements 8: Goblins of the Faerie Wood for Dungeon Crawl Classics! Whether “questing for it”, seeking enigmatic items like the weird of Sorthal, or just stumbling into a thin wall between The Lands We Know and the World of Faerie, entering the Faerie Wood of the Goblins will be a memorable experience. Your DCC players can meet King Ifhane of the Red Hoods, roam the Goblin Field and sample its wares, ask dangerous questions of the Gray Ones, or seek the advice of the Ogre Sorcerer… al at their peril!

CE 8: Goblins of the Faerie Wood is suitable for a 0-level funnel for goblin characters- using an exciting appendix for creating goblin adventurers who can be stealthy warriors or tricksome witch doctors, adding a new exciting option for your DCC gaming. With six detailed encounter areas, lots of interesting twists and turns, get your copy of CE 8: Goblins of the Faerie Wood from the goblinoid good-guys at Purple Duck Games- where our games are what you want!

Comment on this post before 8 AM Eastern Time, December 19th, 2016 to be in the running for $8.19 in an RPGNow Gift Card. Goblins of the Faerie Wood in Print + PDF is exactly $8.19 (gift receiver is responsible for shipping cost) or use it for other purchases at RPGNow. The choice will be yours - if Santa picks you :)

Coming Soon! Not Far West! Not Buckaroo Banzai! Not anything that was paid for years in advance to a shyster that is still bilking people out of their hard earned cash!

How many ways does Gareth Sharka get to say "Fuck You!" to the backers of Far West? Fuck if I know. I've lost count.

Gareth's last comment on the Far West Kickstarter? October 8th, 2016

Gareth's last update on the Far West Kickstarter? August 22, 2016

Last time Gareth gave a shit about his backers? When the payments cleared in September, 2011

Lets be clear. The money - $49,234 (less fees) is long gone. There is nothing left to provide print copies and no money to pay an editor. I suspect his mysterious benefactor that was supposed to assist in putting this project in print has realized what a flake Gareth is and has backed out, and I wouldn't blame him or her. Cubicle 7 backed out years ago and Gareth is still no closer to completion.

The only thing Gareth's lack of communication has changed is he is no longer punting the completion date further down the line. Now, we simply don't have one.

It is, however, 5 FUCKING YEARS after Gareth's initial release date of December, 2011. The traditional gift for a 5th anniversary is wood. At this point, Gareth can buy me a woodgrain OD&D boxed set. I'll even take one in fair condition.

Failing that, if he were to give himself a Wood Shampoo, I might consider it payment in full. But just for me. There are 716 other backers. Even if he gave himself a proper Wood Shampoo daily, it would still take nearly two years to complete. Compared to this Kickstarter, that would be damn quick.

No, I'm not advocating violence. I just wish Gareth could knock some sense into himself. Maybe a smidgen of self respect and a dollop of honesty while he is at it. Yeah, I know. I'm dreaming.

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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (thank you Kickstarter) (edit) BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and will soon have some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep shipping shortly in my grubby hands awaiting a review..

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls (and still waiting on dT&T to ship).

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 48, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)